Manifest Destiny
by marvel26
Summary: The end of all things...
1. The Face Stealer

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the intellectual properties depicted herein. I do not own the characters portrayed. I make no claim to own any part of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'. All intellectual properties depicted herein belong to the creators of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender.' and Nickelodeon.

* * *

I will never understand mortals.

They are beneath me.

I, who am part of that which is eternal, look down upon humanity with disgust and distaste.

The whole stinking, squirming, fornicating herd of them.

* * *

**The Face Stealer**

_

* * *

_

"Ummi! Ummi! Let her go, Worm!"

_"Power and Arrogance are such good bedfellows, don't you think Avatar? It seems pretty crowded in that little igloo of yours. I'm sure you won't miss her." _

* * *

Cattle, is what they are.

Fodder.

* * *

_"Mine now." _

* * *

They exist solely for my pleasure and amusement.

Like puppets on the strings of fate, I have played them against each other.

* * *

_"No, Souzin. No. Abandon such ideas. Please, it would only lead to disaster." _

* * *

Made them act out plays of death and betrayal on the Stage of Infinity.

* * *

_"Where is my husband?! Where is Roku?!" _

_"Look! Fire Lord Souzin's dragon! It's flying away from the island!" _

_"Roku….no…." _

* * *

I have perfected my art.

But like any puppet master, what happens when the strings break?

What will be the finale of a play, when an actor no longer follows the script?

* * *

_"Just let me have the blind girl and your beloved can live." _

* * *

And that was that.

The Avatar had lost the duel.

The blind earthbender's soul was mine.

As was preordained.

As I had forwarned.

That was to be the end of it.

Alas, the script had been changed.

I was no longer pulling the strings.

_

* * *

_

"Aaaiiieee!"

_"Katara?!" _

_"T...Toph…Oh Tui….Toph…" _

_"Aang! Aang! Look at me! What happened?!" _

_"Zuko! She's not breathing! My healing isn't working!" _

_"Sokka, keep an eye on Aang." _

_"Wait…where's Aang?"_

* * *

Events did not unfold as written.

_

* * *

_

"This day marks the most glorious moment in Fire Nation history! At long last, the entire world is unified under one element! The strongest element! The Golden Age is upon us! And as is my divine right as Agni's Chosen, I shall lead our nation into it!"

_"All hail Lord Ozai! All hail Lord Ozai!" _

* * *

Recriminations abound.

_

* * *

_

"Your perversions have led to the destruction of the world!"

_"You filthy lying worm! You have doomed us all!" _

_"Balance no longer exists. Avatar Aang has failed in his quest. You were the cause of it." _

_"Yet, the Avatar Spirit has not found itself a new host. I simply gave the boy a test. He failed. Surely I am not to blame for the ineptitude of a single mortal boy. He is still alive and thus the Balance of the Four Elements still holds. Now leave my domain. I have tolerated your intrusion and abstained from taking your faces thus far. Do not test my patience." _

* * *

Their fury and vehemence were not easily quelled.

Though the world remained spinning, hope had forsaken it.

The despair, the devastation, the lives left broken.

Such delicious agony.

I had thought my act of greed to be a blessing.

With the taking of one sightless soul, I could now reap the misery of an entire world.

_

* * *

_

"I am not leaving you!"

_"Mai's leading the detachment here. Someone in the village sold us out. We…you need to leave!" _

_"I can fight with you if not please, Zuko, come with us." _

_"I have to distract her. She might still hold some feelings for me that I can use. Please Katara, take the children and go. They can't lose us both…" _

* * *

Wonderous, wonderous misery.

If anything, it is a drug to me and now I had a never ending supply of it.

But such things do not last.

A new Avatar was born.

Another chance for humanity to dig itself out of its grave.

Yet silence abounds in the Spirit Realm.

Where was the previous Avatar then?

Should he not be pleading before me, to allow him into the fields of Paradise to be with his beloved Earthbender?

A most curious conundrum.

One that was answered….with the destruction of the Great Library.

The Owl's lair was completely destroyed. The old bird himself hung from the rafters, bloody wings spread, dangling from chains forged by mystical means.

A puppet of rotting flesh and stretching sinew.

The human spirit that resided with the old bird could only utter one single name over and over again when questioned.

Aang.

Whispers and hushed fears spread like wildfire.

Was the former Avatar visiting his vengeance on those that slighted him?

If so, then his first port of call would be the mortal realm.

Why here?

Another riddle soon answered…by the deaths of the Ocean and Moon Spirits.

The boy had gone back to the mortal realm and simply taken a fish out of water.

Yue's calls for sanity and reasoning fell on her former friend's deaf ears as the Ocean Spirits mortal form flopped on the ground helplessly.

When the fish expired, the Moon sank as well, for are they not linked?

Avatars from all ages went forth to reason with the boy, stop him if necessary.

Their words were as useless as their defense for as human spirits they were powerless in this realm.

The boy had learned how to replicate and retain the power of the Avatar Spirit. Though a new Avatar had been born, the boy retained a twisted dark spark of it within himself.

A seed of darkness.

One that I had planted.

If not for the alien sensation in my body, I would appreciate my handiwork.

He was not seeking only vengeance.

No.

He was seeking the End of All Things.

From the Great Library, he discovered that the concept of balance did not stop at the boundaries of the mortal world.

No. For the Spirit World to exist so must the Mortal Realm.

And now he has set out to destroy each and every last one of us.

* * *

End.


	2. The Soul Collector

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the intellectual properties depicted herein. I do not own the characters portrayed. I make no claim to own any part of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'. All intellectual properties depicted herein belong to the creators of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender.' and Nickelodeon.

* * *

**The Soul Collector**

* * *

The Avatar is coming.

Let me tell you a story. Just to kill time before the end.

Worry not, it's not a long one. Then again I am eternal, I might not be the best judge of time.

It's a tale about destiny...and the lengths one man would go to to defy it.

A tale of a choice made, a love lost and a war ignited.

In hindsight it was not the best course of action.

The punishment of the Avatar.

The taking of a earthbender's soul.

Pale jade eyes...that's what I remember. That's what haunts me.

Torments me.

Sad, pleading, disappointed.

The eyes never leave my mind.

Eyes that sparked a war...a secret war...one of such magnitude, it made the Fire Nation's Hundred Year Siege on the world insignificant in scope.

It was destiny, they told him.

It was preordained, they revealed.

His duty was not to her but to the world, they said.

Like any child, he refused to accept that. Who were they to dictate the manner in which the world turned?

The war with those who commanded the flames was soon abandoned. The aggressors celebrated while the defeated mourned.

Until the first spirit was destroyed.

The boy had turned his war upon the Spirits. He who was to bring about Order was now the emmisary of Chaos.

A soul corrupted and twisted by pain, loss and hate.

Death had come to the Spirit World.

And the mortals knew not what was a foot till the clouds began to burn and daggers of ice rained down upon a dead wind swept earth.

Order is never permanent. It will always be disrupted.

Chaos is a constant.

Death a finality.

Without the Spirits to hold the world in order, it was a very possible indeed.

The Avatar approaches.

With...friends, in fact.

I have...had friends.

The Blue Spirit.

The Painted Lady.

All gone.

I am intrigued, how is it that the Avatar is able to master all four elements when the Spirits that govern them are destroyed?

As the Avatar demands my surrender with such courage and determination. Never once showing an ounce of fear or any other emotion in my presence.

I am reminded of a young mortal girl, whose hair was as dark as the night sky, whose blind eyes saw more than any other, whose heart continues to beat on, whose soul continues to endure.

In me.

The Avatar repeats the ultimatum.

Foolish Water Tribe girl.

I was the Avatar once.

My name was Aang.

I am now the Soul Collector.

And I'm going to start the killing.

It started with the Face Stealer.

It shall end with me.

* * *

_Pale jade eyes...that's what I remember. That's what haunts me._

_Torments me._

_Sad, pleading, disappointed._

_The eyes never leave my mind._

_Never._

* * *

End.


	3. The Deal

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the intellectual properties depicted herein. I do not own the characters portrayed. I make no claim to own any part of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'. All intellectual properties depicted herein belong to the creators of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender.' and Nickelodeon.

* * *

**Mephisto**

* * *

Look at him.

So weak.

So insignificant.

So very naïve.

_"The water bender is badly hurt...she might not make it."  
_  
_"Sokka and Zuko are still with her. They'll save her."_

Ah, hope.

The quintessential human trait.

How droll.

_"Yes...they might. But they might fail too. Neither of them are healers and the wounds do look oh so terrible. I can save her. You know I can."  
_  
_"..."_

The fish ponders the bait._  
_  
_"Just let me have the blind girl and your beloved can live."  
_  
_"..."_

Its tiny mind unable to comprehend the magnitude of the situation._  
_  
_"I understand if you need time to consider my generous offer. But do hurry...the sands of time only fall one way."  
_  
_"..."  
_  
_"The earthbender has served her purpose. You've mastered earthbending. You have no further need for her. But the water bender...so loving, so gentle. She fills your heart up in such a way you'd die for her wouldn't you? That is what you said...you'd defeat Ozai and save the world...all for her."  
_  
_"..."_

_"Give me Bei Fong's soul and your water bender may live. You will be her savior. You will redeem Kuruk's folly. he couldn't save his beloved Water Tribe maiden...but you can. And the water bender will love you for it. I'll tell her you saved her."  
_  
_"...Zuko and Sokka will save Katara..."_

There's that Hope again.

_"And say HE does. Your beloved will fall into the arms of the traitor prince. Not yours. And that will be yet another loved one the Fire Nation has taken from you. I can make it so that she never leaves you. All I ask in return is...well, do I need to repeat myself?"  
_  
_"...I will save her..."_

This is starting to get…annoying.

_"Just let me have the earthbender. Her destiny has been fufilled. Her mortal life has been one of neglect and lovelessness. Why subject her to such an ordeal by bringing her back? Your comrades will understand. The water bender would be most grateful, I'm sure. Katara has so much to live for, her brother, her father...YOU. Are you going to take all that away from her by not giving me the chance to save her? Time grows short."  
_  
_"...I..."  
_  
_"Do the right thing Avatar Aang. Do it for your beloved."_

And thus the fish, like any other lesser being, blindly follows its ultimate fate.

* * *

**Faust**

* * *

I'm a fool.

A damned fool.

_"KOH!"  
_  
_"Yesss? My, my...it must be taxing trying to contain all that rage behind such a dead face. You should smile more...like your earthbending teacher here."  
_

Toph….

I'm sorry.

_"You lied to me."  
_  
_"I did? You'd think I'd remember lying to the almighty Avatar."_

_"Katara's...gone."_

_"Careful. No crying now. You know what happens if you cry."_

_"She left."_

They all did.

_"Did she now? She's passed on has she? I don't recall seeing any new faces."_

_"She left me. They all left me."_

_"Oh yes, I remember now...the prince was able to save her life. I owe Roku a pat on the back for having such a noble decendant. Saved me the trouble of healing her myself...not that I would have. I said I COULD save her not that I WOULD."_

_"She said she hated me...she called me a selfish brat...she called me a monster."_

I **am** a monster.

_"Aren't we all?"_

_"Why? Why are you doing this to me?"_

Because I deserve it.

_"The question is: 'How could I NOT?' You pathetic little whelp. What I did to Kuruk was punishment. For you...it was a test. Of your resolve, your commitment, of your heart."_

_"Then why did you take Toph? Why did she have to suffer?"_

_"Silly boy. You know nothing about the truth of the Halls of the Faceless. I spared her. I spared her from you. Same as I did with Kuruk's Ummi."_

_"Why not punish me directly?"_

_"What you are experiencing now...the pain, the loneliness, the sheer gravity of your foolish mistake...the searing of one's own soul by guilt, regret and remorse...no, I could never hope to inflict such a delicious pain as that."_

_"I hate you."_

_"And with such a straight face...bravo, BOY. Just what do you hope to accomplish here? Hmmm? Force me to return the earthbender to you? Is that it? Are you going to summon the full power of the Avatar Spirit upon me?"_

_"...I...I...can't..."_

I will find a way.

_"I didn't think so. It is the Avatar Spirit that empowers you. Your soul is seperate from it. Charged with safe guarding the world, the Avatar Spirit never leaves the mortal plane, it simply moves from host to host. Which is why you and all those before you have no power in the Spirit World. Here...you're just like any other lost soul."_

_"No...nonononono...Forgive me...Toph...I'm sorry."_

_"Tears? Emotion? In front of ME? Are you daft, boy?"_

_"Take my face, Koh. Please."_

_"No."_

_"Why?! Why not?! You'd take the face of a blind girl but not mine?!"_

_"Oh believe me, as exquisite as your emotions are, I cannot take your face. You are the Avatar. The mortal realm needs you. Killing yourself wouldn't do much good either, I still won't take your face. I will not give you the privilege of entering the Halls of the Faceless. You will face your sins in the afterlife...just like those before you."_

_"What?"_

_"Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk, Yang Chen. They're all still here because of the sins they commited. Sins of Ignorance and Arrogance. And you were supposed to redeem them all, now you're going to end up joining them. If you've quite finished mewling...leave my domain. Immediately. The world needs its Avatar...such as it is."_

I will save you, Toph.

Whatever it takes.

Even if I have to destroy the world.

I will save you.

* * *

End.


	4. The Senses

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the intellectual properties depicted herein. I do not own the characters portrayed. I make no claim to own any part of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'. All intellectual properties depicted herein belong to the creators of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender.' and Nickelodeon.

* * *

**Senses**

**Scent**

She was lost and scared. Lonely and miserable. To her shock and disgust, she suddenly realised she'd wandered into a fetid swamp.

"And so it begins."

**Sight**

She didn't need eyes to know who had come for her.

"And what do we have here? Are you lost little Earthbender?"

**Touch**

She could feel them. Scrabbling. Scratching. Trying to find the perfect spots to claw on and sink in.

"Such a pretty face. You have been blessed with great beauty. Pity the rest of the world is blind to it. Wouldn't you say?"

**Taste**

Salty. Her tears tasted salty and bitter.

"Come now. Wipe those tears. Soon it will all be over and you will know peace."

**Sound**

Heartbreak is felt not heard but for her, it was both.

"Do we have a deal Avatar? Give me the Earthbender's soul and the Waterbender will be spared."

"...please save Katara."

* * *

End. Pardon the short length, but there are only five senses.


	5. Beautiful World

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the intellectual properties depicted herein. I do not own the characters portrayed. I make no claim to own any part of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'. All intellectual properties depicted herein belong to the creators of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender.' and Nickelodeon.

_

* * *

_

There are many differing opinions on life.

_Romantics see the world with rose colored glasses._

_Pessimists say that life is long and filled with hardship._

_The cynical state that life is short, depressing and soon it will all be over._

_If there's only one thing I want in this life…it's to say "I'm sorry."_

* * *

**Beautiful World**

* * *

The Soul Collector was the epitome of evil.

Darkness incarnate.

The source of all misery and woe.

Sounded something like mothers' would make up just to get their children to go to bed without any fuss.

The boogeyman.

The imaginary monster lurking in the shadows waiting to pounce the moment your eyes closed.

A child's mind, so vivid in its limitless imagination, would conjure up the very stuff of their nightmares.

Of course, it's all in one's imagination.

After all it's only a dream.

Right?

* * *

"_So what we do first is: Take a firm grip, like so…and force the rib cage open. Gives it more space for the stuffing, see? 'Course you haveta dig out all the giblets and stuff."_

"_Sokka that's disgusting! Stop playing with your food…while it's still raw…and ALIVE!"_

"_Sokka, stop. Aang? Are you alright?"_

"_You don't look well, Avatar."_

"_Yeah, buddy. Kinda green around the gills there."_

"_Man up, Twinkles. It's just some meat."_

* * *

For the Avatar, life was a nightmare.

One she wished she could wake up from.

A pinch, a shove, cold water…anything to wake up and leave this living Hell behind.

There are no tyrants. No despots. No war mongers.

The world was at peace.

So why was she the Avatar?

The world was at peace…because the world was dead.

* * *

"_Seriously, how can you guys even eat…that?"_

"_Aang, we've been over this before. Meat is good. Meat is our friend. We mustn't ignore our friends."_

"_But it used to be alive."_

"_Well, duh Twinkles. I'm not eating a live swamp rat. You heard that Meathead? Next time make sure it's dead!"_

* * *

The fires have gone cold. Chilled by vengeance.

The waters have stilled and blackened. Tainted by madness.

The earth is cracked and blighted. Scarred by an unfeeling hand.

The winds have stopped singing. Silenced by a broken heart.

Those living have become the dead while those that have long passed now wander, lost and aimless.

* * *

"_Hey, Twinkles. What're you going to do after all this?"_

"_Hmm? What?"_

"_I said: What're you going to do after you've given the Fire Lord the ol'Avatar one-two punch?"_

"_I…dunno….Maybe…"_

" '_Cause…I was thinking that…maybe I could stay with you for a little while…don't want to see my folks this soon…I mean if…"_

"_That'd be great. I was going to ask Katara too…hey maybe you could…you know…ask her for me? You being a girl and all…"_

* * *

So she trained.

Despite having no guides, teachers or masters, she trained. She trained because there was nothing else to do but train. The living had long since abandoned any hope.

For what hope can there be in Hell?

* * *

"_You selfish little monster!"_

"_Katara stop! You'll kill him!"_

"_Let go of me Sokka!"_

"_Aang! Avatar! Look at me!"_

"_But…Katara…I…"_

"_Nevermind Katara. Look at me Aang. Focus on me." _

"_Zu…Zuko?"_

"_Good. What happened to Toph?"_

"_You selfish brat! You let her die!"_

"_Katara please! Zuko, get Aang out of here…at least till Katara settles down."_

"_He just confessed, Sokka! He gave Toph to the Face Stealer! He killed her!"_

* * *

So was that her goal?

To kill the Soul Collector.

Seemed logical at the time. Simple as well. Destroy the source of evil and life will be better. The sun would shine again. The waters would flow, clean and crystal clear. The earth would bring life back and the winds would finally sing again.

In her youthful mind, the Soul Collector was a hideous creature. A beast. Devoid of any and all emotion…nothing that would warrant it a second chance at mercy or redemption.

It was a monster.

And all monsters must die.

* * *

"_Katara…please…I…"_

"_Get away from me."_

"_I…I did it for you."_

"_Get. Away."_

"_Katara…I love…"_

"_You don't know what love is!"_

"_I do! I love you! I saved you!"_

"_By sacrificing one of our…MY friends!? Is that supposed to make my swoon in adoration? Am I supposed to jump in your arms and kiss you?"_

"_Y...yes…But…"_

"_You didn't save me. Zuko and Sokka got me to a lake just in time. I barely managed to heal MYSELF but I did."_

"_I did it for you…"_

"_You did it for yourself!_

* * *

Truthfully, she wasn't doing this for the world.

She wasn't sure what she was doing it for.

She wasn't lying to herself. She wasn't doing to save the world. Never had a single altruistic thought in her life.

Yet here she was.

Challenging the greatest evil the world had ever seen and born.

Maybe she wanted the challenge. The satisfaction of bringing down a powerful foe.

No. That wasn't it.

* * *

"_Back again Avatar? Well, you can save your breath…or what passes for it here in the Spirit World. The earthbender is mine."_

"_Give Toph back."_

"_Why? So that you can win favor with the waterbender? I do believe she swore to kill you on sight if your paths should ever cross."_

"_Give Toph back."_

"_I grow tired of your constant mewling Avatar…if you are here to kill me, please get on with it. I'm the last Spirit left. You have already done away with the rest. I can still hear Yue's screams…"_

"_Give. Her. Back."_

"_No matter what you do. No matter how many lives you take, mortal or spirit, you will never have her, do you not realize that?"_

"_Then what use are you?"_

* * *

She felt compelled to do this.

Perhaps it was the Avatar Spirit within her.

While all others had long given up hope and resigned themselves to eke out a wretched existence, she never could.

She was stubborn.

Always had been.

And now it was that same rigid stubbornness that was keeping her legs from turning into slime as the infamous Soul Collector lifted his hooded head. Two red eyes, glowing like hot coals, bore they're way straight through her.

As if he was staring right into her very soul.

* * *

"_The Avatar is dead!"_

"_Avatar Aang is dead?"_

"_Who is dead?"_

"_He just disappeared from the face of the earth."_

"_The kid is gone?"_

"_Wouldn't be the first time the Avatar's abandoned the world."_

"_Lord Ozai has won!"_

"_Good riddance."_

* * *

This was not the Soul Collector.

It couldn't be.

The Soul Collector she'd been brought up to believe as a vicious demon beast who slaughtered innocents to feed his bloodlust.

Not this…man.

What she had impaled to the floor of the Southern Air Temple was not the scourge of the living.

The great Soul Collector would definitely not be coughing up globs of black blood with his final breaths.

"No way it's this easy."

It was no epic battle. They traded blows but something in her knew that he was not putting in his all.

In the end, she got in a lucky hit. An ice spear, the first technique she invented in the absence of proper waterbending training, straight through the chest.

"….sss…yy…"

"You can talk?"

"S…Sorry."

Despite the dead grey flesh that made up his body, the Soul Collector was smiling. He turned to set his now dark grey eyes on her, a wrecked hand painfully reaching out.

Unable to stop herself she knelt by his side and held his cold clammy hand. She'd been with the dead before and she could tell that he'd been dead for quite a while.

So she was right.

The Soul Collector wasn't human.

Hadn't been for a long time.

"Why'd you make it easy for me?"

Not a question to ask at times like this…but then again…

"Sorry."

The Avatar jerked slightly as she felt his bloodied hand cup her cheek, her dark skin crawled at the cold wetness of his blood as his hand dropped limply.

Again she was baffled and confused by her emotions. She was the Avatar, she was a Water Tribe warrior, and she'd been trained to be fiery in battle and rock hard in heart and soul.

She'd defeated a great evil and saved the world.

The sun would shine once more.

The waters would flow again.

The earth offered its comforting strength.

The winds were finally singing.

So why were her blind green eyes crying?

* * *

_If there's only one thing I want in this life…it's to say "I'm sorry."_

* * *

The End.


End file.
